AI-powered cameras Save 270 Elephants in Odisha

In a significant boost to wildlife conservation efforts, Artificial Intelligence-powered surveillance cameras have helped prevent the deaths of at least 270 elephants in Sundargarh district over the past year, forest department sources said on Thursday. 

The AI-enabled system, installed in November 2024 in the Rourkela Forest Division, monitors elephant movement near railway tracks that pass through key wildlife corridors. 

Train accidents have long been a major cause of elephant fatalities in forested regions



where rail lines intersect migratory paths.

According to Divisional Forest Officer Yashwant Sethi, AI cameras were installed at four vulnerable locations — Dollakudar and Kucheita along the Bandhamunda–Barasuan line, and Mahipani and Sonakhan on the busy Mumbai–Howrah railway route — all previously identified as accident-prone stretches. Since installation, 

These real-time warnings enabled forest authorities to coordinate with railway control rooms to slow down or halt trains, ensuring safe passage for the animals.